The process of economic transformation that we have experienced From the eighties to the twenty-first century, as a result of the application of the principles of the free market, it has produced profound changes in the economic, political, social, technological, legal and cultural structures. From the cultural point of view, our countries have had to face a series of challenges that have forced them to rethink the processes of reorganization of their cultural settings
This new context, characterized by the globalization of the economy, communications and culture, is oriented towards the creation of the information and knowledge society in which cultural industries play a fundamental role. as Martín Hopenhayn points out, which means that this sector is becoming "the strategic sector of competitiveness, employment, consensus building, the way of doing politics and the circulation of information and knowledge"
Already in this decade It is moving towards the identification of a living and vibrant sector that is the protagonist of the culture / entrepreneurship / innovation / creation affiliation, in which the Ibero-American countries actively participate, and in some African countries, which have specialized units and a policy of internationalization of its offer of cultural goods and services, in all sectors, from those of the "traditional" cultural industries (book, film, visual arts, and audiovisual) to fields of the performing and musical arts, digital arts and that long etcetera that encompasses the creativity of the sector.
The emergence of the market form in the processes of circulation of goods and services associated with theater, music and dance, with interesting examples and, in the case of Tenerife, they denote an advanced mentality in proposals for exchange and management of advanced models for a sector that needs to innovate its forms of distribution, with which a fertile ground is perceived for the presence of an international market that generates new spaces for south / south integration, and, from this territorial scope, generate platforms for the world.
However. In a broader context, the market, in general, and This sector in particular has had as its relevant characteristics that, during its development process, rich countries relied heavily on trade protection and subsidies, which generally did not observe patent laws or the so-called rights of intellectual property and that they only defended free trade when it brought them economic advantages. From this point of view, these countries today push the developing world to adopt the policies they avoided.
Likewise, the policies of the rich countries not only included protectionism and State intervention, but also a policy of deliberate colonization and deindustrialization of the Third World, which added to the factor globalization, generated pronounced inequality.
All this led to a monopoly in the creation and circulation of cultural content, and the subsequent defense of the same in international treaties, with disgraceful advantages, in all international trade scenarios (WTO; GATT; etc).
This is why we think that, As regards trade policy linked to cultural industries, history and “competitive advantage theory” indicate that the most appropriate procedure would be to consider trade liberalization selectively, as particular industries arrive. to be sufficiently competitive in the world market.
This approach, linked to cultural markets emerging of which we are part, is valid for a sector in which the contents linked to creativity and innovation are very strong and demanded by the world market, and they are present in our countries with high levels of diversity, even considering the asymmetries typical of our Ibero-American cultural space, and of an Africa that we feel close to.
MAPS, apart from join to the strengthening of the sector within the framework of the public cultural policy of Tenerife, both from the budgetary point of view and from the perspective of the consolidation of the export markets of the local offer, it is inserted in the reality of world markets and will generate spaces for reflection in these contexts.
Welcome to this II edition of MAPAS, the cultural market of Tenerife for the world.
Octavio Arbeláez Tobón
